Friendship

“Why did I have to get the worst assistant in the world?” I took a sip of my coffee and installed the mug back on the table. “It hasn't even been a full week but I'm already thinking I should've never hired her.”

From the start, Kim had given off a bad vibe and I knew I should be wary of her. At first, she was too nice to me in a way that came of as fake. If she thought her acting was good, she was terribly wrong.

“You're the one who wanted an assistant,” Anna, my best friend shrugged and drunk her tea. “So stop complaining.”

“I didn't want an assistant who'd ruin my life,” I continued, shaking my head. I stared at people moving in different directions in the busy street below, noting how they looked like safari ants whose lines has been tampered with. “Almost everyone at work acts like I'm invisible now. They're all over Kim and it's annoying. What annoys me most is the fact that she pretends to like me. I'm sure she doesn't, for some twisted reason but is faking it. I feel like she's up to something and now I don't feel very safe in own my office.”

I have always preferred the truth, even when it hurts. In this case, it wouldn't hurt to find out that Kim didn't like me as the feeling would be mutual. I preferred a person who insulted me to my face to one who flattered and stabbed me in the back.

“Well, you can't blame the men drooling over her. She's really hot.”

“Anna!” I smacked my friend on the arm. It may have been true but she was my best friend. She should have been on my side, even when I was wrong or being unreasonable. “They don't have to make it so obvious, though. She walked in today while I was giving my presentation and everyone turned to look at her. I had to keep quiet for a few seconds. Those stupid men couldn't make it less obvious. She's attractive, I know but so what? They don't have to stare at her all day like she's the most beautiful girl in the world. Even if she-”

“Hey, hey,” Anna raised her hand to my face. She placed a finger on my lips. “Slow down, my friend. I love you and all but I think you're fretting over nothing. The girl is young and new, a breath of fresh air to the office. How do you expect the men to react?”

I rolled my eyes when she removed her finger. “I expect them to act like she's another human, just like everyone else.”

Anna shrugged, not saying anything and that instantly made me feel bad.

“I'm sorry,” I continued. “I'm bothering you with my silly problems. You know I talk too much when I'm angry.”

Angry? More like scared. I was scared of what Zane Carrington had planned for me. Since I couldn’t talk about that, I had to talk about my third biggest cause of stress at work. Kim Dalton.

“Can we not talk about her for a while?” Anna said, placing her phone on the table.

“Don't you see? I need to do something about her before she gets me into trouble. I don't trust that woman.”

“What do you want to do?” My friend raised her brows, looking at me expectantly.

“Get her fired,” I said. “I was the one who requested for an assistant so I'll just say I don't need one anymore.”

“I'm sure your bosses wouldn't want to get rid of her. She's so-”

“Hot. Yeah, I know. Stop talking about it. It's not like I'm not hot.”

“You don’t seem as confident as you sound,” Anna chuckled, throwing her head back.

“What?” I punched her arm, laughing. “You're so annoying, Anna. I hate you.”

“You wouldn't be worried about her if you were confident,” she said. “The thing is that those old men are probably suffering from mid-life crisis and they’re probably all interested in taking an advantage of that young girl. They’ll not give you attention because you’re.” Anna pauses as if looking for the right word.

“Old?”

She holds in a smile, the corners of her eyes crinkling. “No, more experienced.”

“Same thing, Anna.”

“Well, you’re older than Kim. You’re twenty-four, she’s twenty-two. You have an established career, and she’s a fresh graduate, looking for all possible ways to be employed. It’s easier for them to take advantage of her by making all sorts of promises.”

“Anyway, I don't care much about looks. I have a position in that company and I deserve some respect, you know. That’s all I needed. I’m not interested in them drooling over me because that’s disgusting.”

Anna rolled her eyes and gulped the remaining tea in her cup. “You don't understand anything. The fact that they don’t drool over you means they respect you.

“So you think not paying any attention to the presentation I spent sleepless nights working on is a sign of respect?”

“Just ignore that tiny issue. Why am I still friends with you?”

“You love me,” I smiled knowingly. Anna and I had been best friends for two years. I knew she loves me as much I loved her. We couldn’t live without each other.

“Hey girls,” Harry appeared and pulled out a chair next to me. “You look like you want to kill someone, Maya. What's up with you?”

“Uh, nothing much.” I said, shaking my head. I did not want Harry to know about my sickening hatred for Kim.

“Right,” Anna piped in, smirking at me. “That's true.”

“Anna.” My eyes bore into hers and she understood that if she made one more sarcastic comment, I was ripping her into shreds.

She shrugged and picked up her phone from the tabletop, silently removing herself from the conversation. Now, that was my friend who I love so much. She respected my privacy when other people were around.

“Have I ever told you that you look cute when you're angry?” Harry asked, grinning at me. His dark eyes were twinkling with amusement.

“What kind of stupid movies do you watch, Harry?” I asked, cringing at his use of that stupid line. I had heard it in a thousand romantic comedies and teen movies. “That's such a cliché line. You should be ashamed of yourself for using it. You’re too old not to come up with something original.”

“But it works,” He winked at me then signaled to a waitress.

“Maybe, but in my case it doesn’t.” I said, as if I believed it. His compliments, however ridiculous always made me feel something.

He chuckled. “I don’t believe that. Leaving that aside, how do you like working with Kim? Isn't she the most wonderful assistant?”

I knew exactly what he was trying to do. There was no way on earth I'm revealing my true feelings to Harry so he could make fun of me.

“Kim is awesome,” I looked straight into his eyes with a smile, daring him to challenge me. “I love working with her.”

“That's great. I've had no complaints about her so far. Besides, she's hot. Who wouldn't want to work with her?”

The female populace at the company headquarters?

“No one,” I lied with a straight face.

Harry smirks, still looking at me.

“What? Stop looking at me like that.” I felt comfortable that he might be able to tell my true feelings about Kim. Like how I wanted to break every bone in her perfectly skinny body.

Anna looked up from her phone and raised eyebrows at me. I looked away.

“I know you too well, Maya.” Harry said. “I know you're not happy working with a girl with so much ambition.”

“You know nothing about me then, Harry. I always aim to uplift other women.”

“That's true” Anna said, putting her hand around my shoulder. “She’s great like that.”

“See?” I challenged Harry. “Anna knows me very well.”

“Don't worry,” Harry said, gently rubbing my back. He was laughing. “Everything will be okay.”

It felt good, being with great friends like them. If I had known what life was about to send our way, I would have hugged them tight.